Former president of the Malawi Confederation of Chambers of Commerce and Industry (MCCCI), Matthews Chikankheni, says the delay to settle arrears that government owes the private sector continues to limit the growth of businesses.
Chikankheni fears that further delays in issuing promissory notes as a temporary relief would eventually lead to the closure of some businesses.
The Ministry of Finance justified the delay arguing that it was carrying out an assessment of the people and companies that it owes to ascertain that amounts being paid out are authentic.
As it stands, government owes the private sector close to K150 billion and according to Chikankheni, the figure is too high and would eventually stifle productivity of the private sector.
“We have seen the government issuing promissory notes to the private sector but the rate at which the promissory notes are being issued is very slow. We can only urge the government to speed up the process because without those promissory notes some of the companies are going to fold up,” Chikankheni said.
He then reiterated the need for government to reduce its borrowing appetite, saying doing so would help to bring down interest rates.
Spokesperson at the Ministry of Finance, Nations Msowoya, however, said government was still auditing the debt figures before issuing payments.
He said treasury is collaborating with the auditor general’s office to authenticate the figures.
“What they should understand is that we are dealing with public money and before we make payments, we need to be certain that we are really settling genuine arrears with all supported paper work,” said Msowoya.
Asked to give a timeframe for the verification process, Msowoya said there is hope that the process would be completed next year.
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